Naruto Uzumaki: Mystic Fox of Young Justice
by Rave Rose of Twilight
Summary: After the war in the Elemental Nations, Death, a member of the Endless, finds Naruto and brings his soul to where he is needed once again. A place where Naruto can find happiness and finally achieve his dream of having a family. However, he has to start over with a clean slate, but that does not mean he will be helpless. Follow as Naruto Uzumaki makes a name for himself as a hero.
1. Prologue

**Naruto Uzumaki: Mystic Fox of Young Justice**

**Written By: Rave Rose of Twilight**

**Warning: I don't own Naruto or anything revolving around the DC Universe.**

Prologue: Reincarnation

It was a dark and dismal day for the planet Earth. A young-looking woman was walking silently through the battlefield, dancing around the corpses and gore that littered it with an almost divine grace. Around her, demons and Death Gods were harvesting the souls of the fallen, but she chose to ignore them. She had pale skin and jet black hair and eyes. She wore a black sun dress that remained clean even as blood and gore splashed around her. As she danced closer to the epicenter of the battlefield, she could see thousands of massive craters litter the landscape. However, it was the largest crater that was the target of her attention.

Buried deep within the crater were two men. One was a much older man with jet black hair and eyes, but the life within them had seemingly never existed. She remembered this man. Madara Uchiha. The man who thought he could cheat her by manipulating the events and people around him to revive himself in order to forge a false sense of peace by using the power of a Primordial God, Shinju, to cast an illusion on the moon.

With a viscious swipe of her hand, she cast his soul into the deepest depths of Hell from whence he could never hope to return. As his body disolved into dust, it was the other body in the crater that caught her attention.

He was a much younger man than Madara Uchiha. He had bright blond hair and blue eyes that shone with the spark of life and spoke of compassion. Blood dripped from his lips as he struggled to breathe with his lungs slowly filling with blood.

The woman looked shocked at just how strong his will to live was. She gently touched her middle finger to his forehead and closed her eyes as she sifted through his memories. Memories of animosity and hatred were the first to come to her mind. Memories of his childhood that made her grow furious, but she continued to scan his memories. He fought to become stronger...to prove his worth to those who called him useless, monster, and other hurtful things. He fought people far stronger than himself. People who should have easily killed him, but he surpassed all expectations and even turned some of his enemies into friends and allies. His worth was soon realized when he fought against a monster of a man named Nagato and convinced him to believe in their master's dream of united peace and that he would be the one to achieve it.

More memories came to mind with each passing moment. True enough, the world had come together in a united front in order to stop Madara from unleashing the power of Shinju.

As the battles became more drawn out, the young man, with the help of his friend/brother, Sasuke Uchiha, managed to bring down Madara, even after he absorbed the power of Shinju. Sasuke had died intercepting an attack meant for his friend, allowing the young hero the chance to deal the final blow.

She opened her eyes and removed her finger from his forehead before looking down at him with a gentle smile. "You have suffered greatly, young hero," she said as tears began to fall down her face. "To sacrifice your happiness for the sake of others. To do everything in your power for the sake of peace. You are a far greater man than most. Because of that, I will guide your soul to another world. A world where you will gain the happiness you so rightly deserve, but be warned. In this world, there is a constant struggle between good and evil and you may be forced to choose sides. But I know. I know you will make the right choice. Because you are a child of Destiny."

She placed her hand atop his head. "Now close your eyes, my young hero, and sleep. For when you wake, your next great adventure shall begin, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto did as he was told. He closed his eyes and felt his heart stop beating. His soul had left his body and was now being cradled in the woman's gentle hands.

"You have lead an incredible life, Naruto Uzumaki," she stated as she flew beyond the world's atmosphere and into the Multiverse where billions of alternate Earths existed. Turning around, she watched as the dead Earth of Naruto Uzumaki was replaced by a more modern version. Shaking her head, she flew off toward one specific Earth she had been keeping her eye on recently due to the balance between good and evil being skewed closer toward evil. She, as well as the other Endless, hoped that this new addition would help to balance the world.

"My brothers and sisters watched your world with interest," she told the spirit. "It was one where the world was skewed the greatest toward evil. We considered it a lost cause, but then you showed up. You alone fought against the odds. Where others failed, you rose to meet the challenge. You turned foes into friends and slowly, your world was beginning to balance out. When the true Madara Uchiha appeared, we considered your world doomed and were prepared to destroy it so that the evil of your world would not touch the others. But once again, you showed up. You rose to the occasion, gathering your friend and allies and you fought back. Against a foe that nobody believed you stood a chance against, you fought back and proved to be the true savior of your world. When Destiny, your father, caught wind of your victories, he would continue to read into his Book and was surprised when history was changed. I don't know which he was more: proud of your accomplishments or depressed about the fact that your existance defied what should have been unavoidable."

"Now, we need a champion. One who has fought against all odds to do so again in order to rebalance the world," she whispered. "We need you. As much as I would love nothing more than to return you to this world with all of your memories and skills, doing so would cause the world to collapse into itself because mortal gods are not meant to exist. That does not mean we will simply leave you powerless. We have decided to gift you with a Magic Affinity equal to your chakra levels, excluding Kurama's own demonic chakra being added onto your own high reserves. You will eventually need a teacher, but I am confident you will find one that is able to sufficiently teach you the art of weaving Magic."

It wasn't long that she stopped in front of a single planet and smiled. "It seems we are at your final stop, Naruto. Remember what they say. Death is not the end of a life, but the doorway to the next great adventure. This is your next great adventure. Farewell, Naruto Uzumaki. I hope to meet you again, though not anytime soon."

With the opening of her hands, the soul fell to Earth to begin the next great adventure.


	2. Introduction to Magic and Heroes

**Naruto Uzumaki: Mystic Fox of Young Justice**

**Written By: Rave Rose of Twilight**

**Warning: I don't own Naruto nor any DC Universe.**

Chapter One: Naruto's Introduction to Magic and Heroes

It was 6 in the morning in Salem, Massachusetts and the small town was just beginning to wake up. One such individual is a 12-year-old boy by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. He woke up in a two-story building his parents had owned on the outskirts of Salem before their tragic accident. A drunk driver driving a big rig ploughed through the red light as his parents were leaving the restaurant from their date night. The two were killed immediately by the impact.

Kushina Uzumaki was a naturalized full-Japanese woman who worked as a bail bondswoman and a volunteer fire fighter. Minato Namikaze was a half-Japanese, half-American man who worked as a lawyer for small business owners and volunteered building houses for the homeless all across the country. Many people attended their funeral as they often got along with everyone or helped them in some way or form.

Naruto had been left the house, the land it stood on, and an inheritance of well over 12 million dollars, though he would only get the money if he attended Salem Academy for Gifted Youth, a K-12 private school that boasted a large turnout of students who graduated from Ivy league schools, and graduated from college. Naruto hesitantly agreed. When he did attend, he soon discovered that the school was for the prodominantly wealthy.

It was then that he realized just how much he hated those rich, snobby, preppy bastards who looked like they would rather spend their lives spending their parent's money than get a job and earn it. Sadly, his parents had worked hard to get him admitted into the school and he knew they would be disappointed if he didn't follow through with their final wishes.

So, he studied constantly and went above and beyond what most expected of him...or of any student. He found out rather quickly that he excelled at art and began to sketch people and places that had an impact on him.

Naruto looked up in the family room and saw a picture of his parents standing behind him. All three of them were smiling. The day before their lives were taken was probably the happiest day in the family's life. "I'm gonna make you proud one day," he said to himself. "I'm gonna be someone that people will be able to look up to for help...just like you two were."

The bus horn shook him from his thoughts as he hurriedly grabbed his backpack and sketch pad before heading to the bus, locking the door behind him. Upon taking his first step into the bus, he immediately noticed something wrong with the picture...

...there was a small group of senior goth kids talking about how fucked up the world was if they had to have superheros like Superman, Batman, and the rest of the Justice League to protect them.

He released an involuntary shudder. He absolutely hated emos, goths, and almost every kind of pesemistic douchebag with a passion. Just the sight of one would cause him to daydream of beating them into the dirt with a smile on his face.

Regardless, he scanned the bus to find a different seat and his eyes landed on the only seat available. It was three rows directly behind the driver and absolutely empty. As soon as he sat down, the bus started to shift before driving off. They made a few stops here and there, but no other students got on. As they turned toward the old, rundown theatre, Naruto took the moment to gaze out his window.

Just outside of his window stood a massive tower that reminded him of the rook piece in chess. And standing atop that tower was an elderly man wearing a brown suit and holding a strange cane in his hand. For only a few seconds, his azure blue eyes met the old man's misty blue eyes. A strange warmth radiated from his core, but he never tore his eyes away. It felt like he couldn't for the longest time until the bus finally turned the corner and the tower vanished in the trees, as impossible as something like that might seem.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to rid himself of the sudden lack of energy he had this morning. _'What was with that tower and who was that old man,'_ Naruto asked himself. _'More specifically, why didn't anyone else react to the sight of that tower.'_

Meanwhile...

Kent Nelson aka. Doctor Fate was standing at the top of the Tower of Fate with a smirk and a twinkle in his misty blue eyes. "That young boy has some amazing magic potential for someone so young. Doesn't he, Nabu?"

A golden helmet began to float beside Kent. "Indeed," the helmet said in a deep and echoing voice. "His magic power is also incredible for one who has never come into contact with the magical realm. And to see the Tower of Fate without either of us granting him permission...he will make for a powerful sorcerer in the future."

"I know," said Kent happily. "Which is why I plan on making him my apprentice in the mystic arts. The only question is how do I approach him with such an offer?"

"Fate has funny ways of making the impossible slightly more possible," the helmet chimed. Kent looked over at the helmet.

"So you would have Doctor Fate make an appearance in front of the lad," Kent asked the helmet sarcastically. "And how would you have him explain why he wishes to apprentice him in the art of weaving magic? No, Nabu. This must be handled with a little more grace. I'm sure he's curious about the Tower. Perhaps, I'll leave a copy of the key in the one place a kid such as him would find it. Show him the wonders of the magical world and then ask him to be my apprentice! It's wonderful! It's perfect! It's..."

"...the single stupidest plan you've ever concocted," the helmet echoed. "What if one of the Lords of Chaos finds the key rather than the boy with potential? The helmet would be right within their grasp."

"We'll see just whose plan is more conveluted," Kent challenged. "Your plan to show up as Doctor Fate and offer him an apprenticeship or my plan to somewhat slowly introduce him to the wonders of magic."

Later that day...

The final bell rang throughout the school and kids of all shapes, ages, and sizes were practically running out of the building. One of the last people to leave the building was Naruto, who was currently rummaging through his locker.

As he subconsciously dialed in his combination, Naruto was thinking back on what he had learned about his teachers and fellow students. His teachers seemed to be mildly decent, something he wished he could say about his classmates. They didn't even seem to be interested in learning. Just gossiping about the newest topic, which was usually centered around heroes, villains, and what the Justice League was doing.

With a loud pop, the door swung open allowing Naruto to see what was in his locker. His backpack. A couple of sketch pads. A few envelopes with hearts drawn on them. An iron key that looked like it had been through three world wars. His school b...

...wait. What?

Oddly enough, there it was. A fairly large iron key that looked like it had several scratches or some kind of markings carved into it that hung from some kind of thin, clear string a bit thinner than fishing line. Carefully, he pulled the key down and inspected it closely. It was too large to be any use in a modern house. Maybe it could be used on some kind of chest from the World War era. For whatever reason, he chose to tuck it into his backpack before emptying his locker of everything except for his school books.

When he grabbed the strange envelopes, he shrugged his shoulders and threw them away. He didn't know who they came from and didn't care. He wasn't that into gossip that he had to read about it in school. He wasn't into gossip anyway.

As he walked out of the academy, he noticed his bus was just pulling out of the driveway. No matter how fast he ran, he was no match for the modern car engine. Silently cursing himself for spending so much time on a weird key that he missed his bus home, Naruto did the one thing he never had time to do except on the weekends.

He walked home.

It was about seven blocks away, thankfully. Within thirty minutes of walking, he noticed that he was getting closer to the theatre where he saw that strange tower again. Looking up to the top of the tower, he was mildly shocked to not see the elderly man he originally saw on his way to school. A foreboding feeling passed through his body. As he walked up, he noticed a door on one side with a keyhole.

Carefully, he took out the key from his backpack and put it in the keyhole. With a turn of the key, the door popped open and a blinding light caused him to close his eyes.

By the time he opened his eyes again, he saw the old man from earlier standing in front of him, but he looked different.

"I see you possess a key to the Tower, but I do not recognize you as an authorized visitor," he said. "Identify yourself."

Naruto stood there...startled. "I'm sorry," the boy said hastily. "I found this key in my locker and I was curious as to what it belonged to. I didn't mean to break in."

The man smiled kindly toward Naruto. "Don't worry, sprout," the man said. "You're not in trouble. I'm sure the master of the Tower had some reason to give you the key. Let me bring you to him. Alright?"

The boy nodded and followed the elderly man. They went up some stairs, down others, and even went through an elevator. As soon as the elevator stopped, the two walked out and saw a large room filled with all kinds of weird things, though he was willing to bet they were antiques from all over the world. Without warning, the elderly man standing beside him...now stood directly in front of him. He looked to the side and saw the same elderly man.

Okay. This was confusing and freaking him out slightly.

With a simple wave of his hand, the elderly man standing beside him had faded into thin air. "Welcome to the Tower of Fate, young man," he said with a mischeivous smile. "My name is Kent Nelson and you, my fine young man, have intrigued me."

Naruto looked at Kent nervously. "You see. You have done something I have always considered impossible for anyone to do. You saw the Tower of Fate. I say that it's considered impossible because there is a special spell placed around the Tower that hides it in an alternate dimension. To have seen the Tower means you have incredible potential for Magic. You can see the space between dimensions that the Tower sits on."

"Magic," Naruto asked skeptically. "Like sawing people in half and pulling rabbits out of hats?"

Kent shook his head negative. "No. Those are illusionists. They use trap doors, smoke, and mirrors to make things that seem impossible become real. Collapsable flowers. A hidden door in the hat that leads to a box that a rabbit is in. A rubber saw, fake legs, and a person stuffed into the other half of the box. Those things are simple and easily explainable. When I say magic," he said before revealing a fireball the size of a basketball hovering inches over his palm. Seconds later, the flame began to turn to ice and fell to the ground, but the instant it hit the ground, it turned into water and splashed harmlessly against the ground. "I mean real magic. Spells. Familiars. Rituals. The works."

"Woah," the blond said in awe at the display. "And I can do that?"

"Not just yet," Kent informed him. "While you have a lot of magic and a lot of potential, you still need to be trained to use it. Which is why I am asking you...if you would like to become my apprentice in magic?"

Naruto stood there, shocked. "Seriously?"

"Of course," Kent said honestly. "You could do the world a lot of good by mastering your magic power and your ability to see through illusions and the space between dimensions will be an invaluable asset."

"Do the world a lot of good," Naruto muttered to himself as he looked down at his shaking hands. With this power, could he really help people? Make a difference in the lives of complete strangers? Could it really be so simple?

For an instant, he could swear he saw his parents standing behind Kent Nelson giving him smiles and approving looks. His father, an older-looking copy of him, was nodding with teary eyes while his mother, a woman with long crimson locks and green eyes, elbowed him in the ribs while trying to wipe away her own tears.

He made them a promise at their funeral that he would live up to their example by helping people in need...and this was his chance. "I'll do it," Naruto said firmly. "If I can help people, make a difference, I'll take any training you can dish out, Gramps."

"Gramps," Kent asked quizically. "I don't look that old, do I?"

Naruto chuckled a bit seeing as this guy must not get out into town much. But, he was officially his apprentice as of the moment he accepted the offer. "So what's first?"

"First, we need to get you a familiar," Kent told him. "Because you have such high magic power, you won't have a lot of control over it. By giving you a familiar, we have something we can use to control and channel your power."

"Like a seal, right," Naruto inquired.

"Sort of. Now, I know a spell that will allow you to gain a familiar, but it might hurt for a bit," Kent explained. "Are you ready?"

Naruto nodded. Kent began to chant in some strange language and odd symbols spiraled around Naruto's body. As soon as the symbols crawled up Naruto's leg, he could feel a burning sensation crawling up his legs and through his core. He wanted to scream, but something inside refused to let him. The moment the symbols touched his stomach, a strange, complicated design appeared and began to glow crimson. As the glow brightened, a crimson-furred muzzle seemed to melt out of the design. Slowly, but surely the muzzle turned into a strange creature that looked like a blend between a fox and rabbit.

By the time it was half-way out, the creature now looked more fox-like than when only his face was out. Where its front paws were located were furry human-like hands, thumbs included. By the time it was over and Naruto was ready to pass out, the creature was more demonic in appearance than either of them would have believed. It had long ears reminiscent of a rabbit and furry humanoid hands and nine long tails. Its muzzle was long and its teeth were sharp.

For a moment, it looked confused. Why was it out here? Where was here? And who...

The creature turned around and saw a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy around 12-years-old. Its eyes widened. "Naruto!"

Naruto, still a bit out of it, looked down at the strange fox-like creature curiously. Pictures of a massive monster fox flashed through his mind. He saw the creature standing at the front of a gate taller than the Tower of Fate with its fist outstretched and a person who looked like him bumped fists with the massive monster. "Kyu...no. Kurama?"

"Are you two familiar with one another," Kent asked warilly.

"Know him," the creature, Kurama, said with a scoff. "We're partners. We have been for a long time."

"I don't...I don't remember," Naruto admitted. "But if he says we've been partners for a long time, I'll believe him."

Kurama looked at Naruto, a shocked look was clear even with his fox features obscuring it slightly. "How old are you, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze?"

"Twelve," Naruto said quickly enough. "Why?"

"Because when we were partners, you were 16," he said, stunning the group.

"What could have happened," Kent asked. "People don't just retard their physical age. It's impossible. Even with all the magic in the world, you could only hope to change your appearance to a younger age. Not literally retard your age from 16 to 12."

"And you are correct," Kurama stated, placing his hand against his muzzle. "I can only think of one thing that could have done something like this. He was reincarnated. He must have lost all of his memories of his past life when he died and was reincarnated by some God or Goddess that took notice of him. However, I was bound to his soul during his first life by a complex seal forged by his parents. Because of it, I was accidentally reincarnated also, but I've retained my memories because I wasn't the direct target. It's the only thing I can imagine having happened, but even I am skeptical about such a thing happening."

"So you're saying I died before," Naruto asked, his voice shaking slightly. "Why can't I remember that?"

"If every soul was reincarnated with all of the memories of their past lives, they would slowly be driven insane by the conflicting memories," Kurama said firmly. "Sometimes, it's best not to remember your past life or lives. In this case, it's definitely best that you don't remember yours. However, I will always be at your side. No matter what you choose to do in life."

"Did you know my parents...in my last life," Naruto asked. Kurama nodded.

"Yes. In fact, the last person to watch over me was your mother," Kurama informed him. "She was a tomboy with red hair and green eyes. Always getting into fights or beating up someone. Your father was probably the most aggravating person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting until I met you when you were 12, but they were good people. Quite frankly, you were an idiot. Something I'm glad has changed in this life."

"Just like my parents," Naruto said softly.

"I'm glad you finally got a chance to know them as they lived," Kurama said. "Something else that has changed that I'm glad happened. Your parents were probably reincarnated along with you to give you a chance to know them. I must remember to thank whatever God or Goddess that reincarnated you for helping you so much."

"So, Kurama," Kent intruded. "You are going to be acting as Naruto's magic buffer. He has so much magic power that he needs someone to regulate the flow. I guess you could say that sealed within you is 8/9ths of Naruto's full magic power, if your tails are any indication."

"So when the kid needs more cha...magic, I have to give it to him," the fox asked, almost slipping and calling magic chakra. Kent nodded. "Great. It's the same thing as before only in reverse." Kent raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say, I was sealed within him and he would often borrow my power against people who would have otherwise killed him and leave it at that. He's started a new life. No need to drop him back into his old one." Kent nodded sagely.

"Well, that's the way its gonna work from now on until your body is strong enough to handle holding more of your magic power in without tearing a hole in the fabric of reality as we know it. Why it hasn't happened yet is anyones guess. If I were a betting man, I'd say you will be able to handle having all of your power in your body safely by the time you hit 19 or 20 years old," he explained to the youth, who nodded. He was eager to be able to safely handle his full power so he could use it to help others in the future. "For now, I think I should show you to the library. We'll have a lot of studying to do and so many schools of magic to experiment with."

"Schools," Naruto asked.

"Yes. Magic is divided into many schools," he stated. "Conjuration, Divination, Destruction, Illusion, Alchemy or Transmutation, Abjuration, Evocation, Enchantment, Necromancy, Blood Magic, and many others. We won't step into Necromancy or Blood Magic because it is Dark Magic and goes against the very laws of nature."

"Precisely," Kurama interjected. "And I will not have my friend and partner practice something practiced by the legally insane or utter sociopaths with no regard for human life. However, in addition to what Kent teaches you, I will be teaching you Demonic Magic. Being that I was born a demon fox, I have access to several demon spells that will inevitably assist you in your new life. Unlike what most believe, Demonic Magic is not inherantly Dark or dangerous, though it can be when misused or when being used in conjunction with Blood Magic. Some demons are actually willing to help mages learn to harness their strength so some idiot does not unleash a high-class demon into the world in a berserker rage, resulting in the attempted extinction of the human race."

Kent nodded in acceptance. It would be good for Naruto to summon help when he needed it and Demonic Magic would help accomplish that. "For now, I believe we need to discuss a schedule based around your school schedule and also have you exercise. A mage who does not exercise is little more than a glass cannon. By exercising your physical body as well as your mind and magic skills, you will become a force to be reckoned with."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Well, my personal schedule revolves around my parents' last wishes. They wanted me to attend Salem Academy, much to my chagrin of being surrounded by rich douchebags who think themselves invincible because they have money and connections. Following my graduation, I was to attend an Ivy League college of my choice and graduate."

"All worthy aspirations," Kent admitted. "I, myself, became an archeologist after college...followed by becoming a superhero."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "A superhero? Seriously? That's the best you can come up with?"

"I'll have you know I was, and still am, quite famous in the hero game...even though I have practically retired due to my...advanced age," Kent stated. "I was known as Doctor Fate."

Naruto's eyes widened. Doctor Fate was an old superhero from a long time ago. His parents would tell him stories about the heroes of their youth, the most famous of which was Doctor Fate, Sorcerer Surpreme. "If that's true, you'd have to be well over 100 years old! Maybe older!"

The elderly mystic chuckled. "Actually, I'm only 102 years old. Born in 1904."

Naruto just gave him a deadpan look, just as Kurama seemed to be doing along with him.

"You are surprisingly long lived for a fleshbag," Kurama stated flatly. "I'm honestly surprised any of you survive past your ninties, as frail as you all seem to become in that advanced age."

"True enough, but with age comes wisdom," Kent said in a sage-like tone that made Kurama's eyes widen slightly.

The small ball of fur chuckled dryly to himself. "I suppose it would to such a short-lived species as yours, but demons can live for tens of thousands of years. We don't particularly keep track of what goes on in a matter of days when a year is similar to a day for them. But you humans...you live such short, fragile lives. You have to do things quickly or make your footprint into the world while you still are able to or your lives don't have much meaning."

"Kurama," Naruto scolded the tiny fox with eight tails.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but it's true," Kurama told him. "Demons like to take things slow because we live longer lives. Humans are lucky to live to be 90 to 100 years old, if they are lucky. The oldest maybe living to be 150, though it is highly unlikely to happen. So for a long-lived species like myself, humans can be incredibly unpredictable and abnormally ambitious for a species so short lived which makes others believe humans make snap decisions and rash choices. You, Naruto, are probably the greatest exception that I have ever met involving humans. It is why we will always be such good partners. We know one another better than anyone else and we have been trough a lot together."

"Even though I don't remember any of it," Naruto put in sharply.

"Which is for the best," Kurama reinforced. "What you did in your first life...what you went through in that life...should never have been allowed to happen. And I think it is best we drop the subject before your curiosity gets the better of you."

"Kurama is correct, Naruto," Kent stated. "You will continue to go to school every day, like the good student you are. I will cast a spell that will allow you to transport between the Tower of Fate and your home so you can train on your days off without having to walk several blocks to do so. And, since your school is fairly close to the Tower, it wouldn't be a problem for you to walk here after school. After you do your homework, you will read tomes and other spellbooks I've collected over the years. Once I believe you've learned enough, we will begin on your spell crafting skills. Within the next couple of years, you will become an incredibly skilled sorcerer in your own right."

"What are we waiting for then," Naruto said, cracking his knuckles and letting Kurama jump onto his shoulder, thanks due to his tiny size. "Let's get training!"


	3. Trials of a Superhero Mage

**Naruto Uzumaki: Mystic Fox of Young Justice**

**Written By: Rave Rose of Twilight**

**Warning: I don't own Naruto or the DC Universe.**

**Author's Note: I know what a lot of you might be thinking about the last chapter. 'Oh. So Kurama is Naruto's Familiar. How original.' The way I see it, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal that was used to seal Kurama away was meant to tie their souls/power together. So, by Death taking Naruto's soul, she inadvertantly took Kurama's and via reincarnation, Kurama was still bound to Naruto. The runes Kent used as part of his spell was to allow Naruto's power to produce a familiar of its own. One that could contain his vast magic power. Without understanding the way this was meant to work, Kent had brought out Kurama's soul, given it a body with Naruto's power, and kept that tie between their souls attached.**

**Also, I will attempt to recreate a few of the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu from Naruto's world into spells. I won't tell you which ones because even I don't know all of them. However, he will, with enough training, be able to recreate the Hiraishin into a high-speed transportation spell, but that won't be for a long time. Maybe when the 2nd season starts as far as chapters go, but don't expect him to have several Jutsu from his world any time soon. They will be taught to him by Kurama, since Kurama is the only being from Naruto's world with memory of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.**

Chapter Two: Trials of a Spellcasting Hero

Over the last two years, Naruto had learned several things from Kent and Kurama. Thanks to his education in Salem Academy, he had begun to learn Latin, a language Kent said was the origin of every language known to man and a key to several kinds of magic. Kurama had also had him begin learning the Abyssal language and script, a key to mastering Demonic Magic.

He continued to attend school and advanced to the eighth grade in his seventh year of attending Salem Academy, earning him a lot of praise from his teachers. He was incredibly intelligent for his age and he absorbed information like a sponge. Unfortunately, he now had to put up with douchebags a year or two older than him giving him all kinds of grief from picking on him to giving him dirty looks.

He simply chose to ignore them for the most part. His training took prescidence. Eventually, Kent began to teach him actual spells. A few simple ones, but they were spells. It didn't take him long to master these spells. Some of his more favored spells were the Enlargement Spell, which he often cast on Kurama to grow him to the size of a wolf or a horse, and the Empower Spell, which enhanced Kurama's physical abilities several times over, granting him the ability to fight alongside Naruto against any enemy he might come across. Even the common gun-wielding thug was easily detained by Kurama when under the effects of these spells. His skin was so durable, he would be unaffected by any hail of incoming bullets...supposedly.

Naruto wasn't insane enough to put this to the test seeing as Kurama was doing his best to help him and the fact that they were partners until the end.

He was finding it slightly more difficult to learn Demonic Magic than the magic Kent was teaching him. Due to the inherent nature of Demonic Magic, Naruto found it difficult to summon a demon, even a low-ranking one. Today, he was on yet another attempt to summon a demon using only his magic without resorting to using Blood Magic.

"Concentrate, Naruto," Kurama stated in a sage-like tone. "Demons will be able to sense your emotions through your magic. If you are fearful, they will sense it and no demon will respond to your call."

"I'm trying, Kurama," Naruto said as sweat fell from his forehead. "But what if I summon a demon stronger than my magic can handle?"

"You cannot allow such fears to flow through your magic," Kurama insisted. "If a demon stronger than you appears, both Kent and I will be able to handle them and send them back...the hard way if they do not listen to reason. I have complete faith in your skills. You should feel the same."

Naruto felt a weight lift from his shoulders as he smiled at his partner. "Thanks, Kurama," he said softly. "Alright. Last chance for today." Naruto pulled his magic and allowed it to flow through his hands into the Summoning Circle and began to chant rhythmically. The circle began to glow a crimson color before finally turning gold. "I call upon thee, demon. Heed my call and show yourself to me."

A flash of light blinded almost everyone in the room. Kent had his hands on the Helmet of Fate, ready to dispatch this demon at a moments notice. Kurama too had been preparing a spell of his own to dispatch the demon. As the light died down, Kurama's stomach dropped the instant he saw who had been summoned.

"No," Kurama mutted to himself silently. "Anyone but her."

"Anyone but who," asked Kent, curious as to who could make Kurama, probably the most headstrong and annoying demon familiar he'd ever met quake in fear.

"Who dares summon me," the female voice demanded.

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze is your summoner," he stated. "Who are you?"

"Naruto...Uzumaki," she asked, her tone had dropped a bit after hearing his name. "NARU-TAN!"

Without warning, a blue cat that looked like it was made of fire lept out and knocked Naruto on his ass. "Wha..."

"Who is that," Kent asked Kurama.

"One of my younger siblings," Kurama said as an ominous chill dropped down his spine. "Matatabi the Nekomata. She was born with two tails the same way I was born with nine. She has a mastery over fire and is engulfed in blue flames. While I too have knowledge over fire, my mastery lies in wind. Much like Naruto does."

True enough, Naruto took to Wind Magic like a fish to water. He was able to grow in Wind Magic to a degree that even Kent wasn't able to do. He was even able to make barriers of wind to deflect or destroy any incoming projectiles or walls of wind to push someone farther away. The limits were practically none existant.

"So, your sister," Kent started. "Why are you so scared of her?"

"It's not a question of power or strength because I have both in spades," Kurama informed him. "She is just annoyingly girly. Everything is about something being cute or cuddly with her. When she reached adulthood, she would annoy her female containers about having sex with this cute guy or that cute girl. However, when she met Naruto...I swear she fell in love with him. Sadly, or thankfully if you want my opinion, she had already been removed from her container, a young woman by the name of Yugito Nii. If they had ever met, I have no doubt that Yugito would have ended up marrying Naruto or at the very least robbing him of his virginity."

"So should we be worried about her doing anything inappropriate to Naruto in the Tower," Kent asked.

"No," Kurama said flatly. "Matatabi may have been like that once, but she's been summoned by him. To do anything remotely inappropriate would conflict with the rules of the summoning. For now, she is little more than an incredibly powerful flaming house cat. Still, that he summoned her instead of another type of demon worries me."

"Why?"

"Because it means that it isn't just his magic that is being used in the summoning, but the essence of his soul," he said. "Because his soul's essence still has ties to his first life...there are chances that a lot of his future summons will be primarily my siblings. If that happens, he may ask them questions that we don't want asked or answered. I'm going to have to have a long talk about his circumstances with them so they don't blurt out something he shouldn't hear."

With that, Kurama began to walk toward Matatabi. "Hello, sister," he said, causing the blue firecat to turn his way and jumping off Naruto's chest.

"Kurama-nii-san," Matatabi said in awe. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you about it later," he said with a small smile. "For now, I need to speak with you. You can relay this conversation to our other brothers and sisters when you return to the demon world."

As the two demon animals walked away, Naruto sat back up and looked at Kent oddly. "What the hell just happened?"

Kent shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have a clue," he said, knowingly lying to Naruto. It was for his own good. "Maybe Kurama's asking Matatabi to put in a good word for you with other demons."

Naruto nodded hesitantly and, before long, the two demons had begun to walk back toward them. Matatabi walked forward and sat down in front of Naruto. "Hello, Naruto Uzumaki," she said kindly. "My name is Matatabi. Kurama-nii-san told me you wanted to form a contract with me?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Kurama's teaching me Demonic Magic and wanted me to sign a contract with a couple of demons so I could ask for their help if I ever need it. You were my first summon since I started training."

Matatabi nodded and held out a paw. The space above her paw ignited in blue flames. As soon as the flames dismissed themselves, a normal-looking card appeared with a gold border and a picture of a sitting Matatabi in the middle. "This is a summoning card. We use it in place of an actual paper contract. On the back of the card are a list of days I will and won't be available. Just so you know, I am available to fight on weekdays, but not weekends. However, I do know my fair share of Demonic Fire spells that I can teach you when you summon me during the weekend instead of the weekdays. Okay?"

Naruto nodded. "So all I have to do is channel my magic through the card and you'll appear?"

"Yes, but not all demons will be so easy to please as I am," Matatabi stated. "Some demons will only respond to a sacrifice of blood and magic. Of course, all you will ever need to do is cut your thumb and let some blood touch the card. Nothing extreme like murdering a virgin girl or sacrificing a baby."

"Okay," Naruto said happily. "Thanks for the lesson, Matatabi,"

"No need to thank me, Naru-tan," Matatabi explained with a cheshire grin. "Just helping my future summoner as much as I can. Goodbye! I'll see you soon!" With those last words, Matatabi simply disappeared in a sudden burst of flame.

"Congratulations, partner," Kurama stated. "You've finally managed to summon a demon and got her to sign a contract with you. And it only took you a year and a half to do it."

"Give me a break, Kurama," Naruto said as his head hung low from the blow to his pride. "Just summoning her took a lot of my magic power that I can barely stand straight." With those final words, Naruto slowly walked off to bed for a quick nap.

"Indeed," the fox muttered under his breath. "Thankfully, now that the contract has been made, it should take considerably less to summon her again."

"So...on a scale of 1 to 10, just how strong was she," Kent asked curiously.

"If I were to judge her on the standards of high-class demons, she would be a 1 or 2. On the scale of the average demon, however, she was around a 6 or 7. She is powerful, I'll give her that. But nowhere near as powerful as someone like myself or many other demons. Most Dark Mages wouldn't think twice before dismissing her in hopes of summoning a more powerful demon, but for someone like Naruto...she is undoubtedly a good choice for a first contract since she has so few requirements and has a lot of power. Because it's with Naruto, her already low requirements are drastically reduced simply because of the bond he formed with my brothers and sisters before his last few moments in his first life. If she knew it was him from the beginning, she would have come immediately, but his fear was clouding his magical signature."

"I see," Kent stated as an idea popped into his head. "I think I should call in a friend of mine to help Naruto out with his training as a magi. He uses a different way of casting spells and I think it would be a good idea to teach him about the different ways of casting."

"And who did you happen to have in mind," Kurama asked skeptically.

"Giovanni Zatara and his daughter Zatanna Zatara," Kent said with a glimmer in his eye. "Giovanni is a Justice League member as well as a Homo Magi. I know he is training his daughter to one day be a powerful mage just like him. Maybe we could trade off teaching for a bit."

"As much as I am sure this will vex me in the future, I suppose we don't have much choice," Kurama admitted. "However, it will have to be at Naruto's house. You could bring over a few harmless tomes and texts that the two students can study. Of course, I refuse to train anybody save Naruto how to use Demonic Magic so training the young Zatara girl will be your job. Based on what Naruto learns under the elder Zatara's tutelage and how well he learns it will determine whether I allow him to continue learning it or if it will be something he works on in his spare time."

Kent nodded as Nabu melted into the wall back to where it is held for safe keeping. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed a number he knew all too well. "Hello, Giovanni? It's Kent. Listen. I was wondering if you and that daughter of yours were still interested in learning a bit of magic from the Tower. You are? Good. You see, I too have found an apprentice. An incredibly gifted one and, believe it or not, I'm kind of running out of things to teach him at the novice level. He's actually in the Apprentice level with Wind Magic and Plant Magic. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping to teach him something new if I taught your daughter a few spells and skills. You would? Wonderful. However, we won't be meeting at the Tower of Fate. I trust you and your daughter just fine, but I don't trust that a Lord of Chaos won't follow you. We'll be meeting at my apprentice's house here in Salem. I'll text you the address and we can meet over the weekend. Okay. See you then."

**Click**

"That sounded like it went surprisingly well," Kurama stated with a raised eyebrow.

"It did," Kent admitted. "He was surprised when I mentioned how well Naruto was doing in his studies and started bragging about how well his daughter was in hers. Of course, I don't think he was lying. Just...expanding the truth slightly."

"Good," Kurama stated. "Sometimes, the best way to get stronger is with a healthy competition. Of course, he doesn't know just how competitive Naruto can be and that he puts his all into learning something that interests him. The Zatara family will learn soon enough just how hard it is competing against someone like him."

Within a matter of days, Giovanni and Zatanna Zatara were standing in front of a fairly large home. Far too large for just one person to live in, that's for sure. They knocked on the door and watched as it swung open...revealing Naruto wearing his school uniform. "Who're you," he said bluntly, causing Giovanni to gape like a fish until he managed to subdue his shock.

"I am Giovanni Zatara and this is my daughter, Zatanna Zatara," he introduced. "Kent Nelson invited us over."

"One minute," he said before politely shutting the door. However, they could still hear him outside. "Hey, Gramps! What business do you have inviting strangers to my home!?"

_'Gramps,'_ the two thought in unison.

"Ah," called the voice of Kent Nelson. "Naruto, my boy. Those two are here for the same reason you are. They're Homo Magi...like you."

"So?"

"I may have forgotten to mention Giovanni Zatara is a member of the Justice League," Kent said abashedly.

There was a moments silence and Giovanni was fearing the worst. Just as he was prepared to teleport into the house, the door swung open much faster than it had before. "Is it true? Are you in the Justice League?"

"Erm...yes," he said, though it sounded more like a question. "I am the Great Zatara, member of the Justice League."

"Would you please come in," Naruto offered politely. "If you don't, there won't be witnesses to me murdering my teacher."

"Sure," came Zatanna, who took her father by the hand and practically dragged him into the house. The two were dressed in the traditional stage magician's garb. (A/N: I really don't feel like describing what they are wearing, so just imagine the same things they wear before they put on the Helmet of Fate.)

"I did say I was sorry," Kent called out from the staircase.

"Strange," Naruto said out loud. "This is the first I'm hearing of it." He sighed to himself. "Whatever. Next time, give me about a warning a week in advanced so I can at least clean up a bit for any future guests."

Zatanna looked around and could barely see a speck of filth or dust on any surface. Clean up a bit? Who was he trying to kid? "So what's this about, Gramps? Brining in a League Mage, I mean."

"Well, you've surpassed the Novice stage of all of the magics I've taught you and you are almost to the Journeyman stage in your Wind and Plant Magics. I thought it wouldn't hurt you to meet an experienced crime fighting Magi like yourself and to learn a thing or two from him while I teach his apprentice," Kent admitted freely, stunning Zatarra upon finding out the kid who was a little bit older than her.

"Would you mind showing me a few of your spells," Zatanna asked Naruto, who shrugged his shoulders.

He sat down cross-legged and began to focus on his magic core. "_Ventus Murum!_" With those simple words, a massive wall about eight feet tall by six feet wide appeared before their eyes. The only way they could tell it was there was because of the constant movement of the winds, as invisible they might have been. With a swipe of his hand, the wind from the wall simply seemed to fall apart, disrupting the spell. "I've learned to use Latin as the base for all of my Verbal spells and I've also been learning to cast spells somatically using special hand formations and combinations."

Zatanna puffed out her chest with pride. "Dad's been teaching me to cast spells by saying them backwards."

Naruto smiled at her, fairly impressed that she had the ability to speak backwards. "Definitely impressive. The name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."

"And I am Zatanna. Zatanna Zatara," she said as they bumped fists. "And I've got a feeling that this is the start of a beautiful friendship."


	4. Happy Birthday, Naruto!

**Naruto Uzumaki: Mystic Fox of Young Justice**

**Written By: Rave Rose of Twilight**

**Warning: I don't own Naruto or DC Universe.**

Chapter Three: Happy Birthday, Naruto!

Over the next few months, Zatanna and Naruto had been studying during the weekends under their respective teachers. Zatara was surprised at the rate of which Naruto seemed to pick up on the things he was being taught and Kent was stunned at how much magic potential Zatanna had, almost on the same level as Naruto. The two were advancing at an incredible rate.

Before long, October 10th, 2008 had arrived and Kurama and Kent knew that today was Naruto's birthday and they had informed Zatanna and Zatara of the importance that today held. The two of them wanted to do something special. Zatanna especially considering how close the two of them had gotten over the short periods of time they spent together.

Zatanna and her father had been shocked when they saw Kurama, whom they had originally believed to be a stuffed fox plush, walk up to them and start talking about wanting to celebrate Naruto's birthday. After a long, winding speech about how he was Naruto's demon familiar, bound to him his soul by his immense magic power and was currently acting as a container for a majority of said magic power.

Naturally, after evading Zatara's attempts at murdering the demon and sending it back to Hell numerous times, Kent had somehow managed to get him to sit down and listen to the explanation Kurama offered him as to why erasing his very existance from the mortal plane would be a bad idea for everyone involved.

Thankfully, there would be no unexpected reality warping going on anytime soon due to a massive and sudden influx of magic power concentrated in one location that was not the Tower of Fate.

Today was a very special day and Kurama had taken it upon himself to arrange a massive birthday party for his best friend and partner. Naturally, Zatanna and Kent forced themselves to be a part of it, offering to be the distraction while Kurama and Zatara set up Naruto's home.

Somehow, Zatara managed to convince a few of the Justice League members to come down with a few of their sidekicks/partners to the party as an introduction to people who have been in the hero game for a long time and to learn some more about what the League expects of future heroes after informing them of the young mage's desire to help people with his powers.

Currently, Kent had Zatanna and Naruto sparring in an empty room located within the Tower of Fate.

"Llaberif," shouted Zatanna as a basketball-sized ball of blazing hot fire screamed toward Naruto.

"_Vacuum,_" called Naruto in response as a giant black vortex appeared in front of him, absorbing the ball of fire before closing in on itself. "_Ventus Globus!_" An orb of spiraling wind shot forth from his palm at great speeds toward Zatanna, who was barely able to dodge it. Unfortunately, just as the sphere of wind got beside her, it exploded, sending Zatanna skidding across the room.

"That's enough," Kent said as he watched Naruto help Zatanna back to her feet. "You've both progressed incredibly quickly. At this rate, you'll be strong enough to join the League when you turn 16."

"Yep," Naruto said as he dusted himself off a bit due to his own encounters with the floor. "Four more years and I'll be ready to join the big leagues instead of dealing with those fake magicians after Nabu's power."

True enough, there were a great number of people, wanna-be magicians who thought they were big shit because they could conjur up fireballs and use Blood Magic to control minor demons like imps and the like, who often tried to find the legendary Helmet of Fate. Almost easily enough, Naruto had joined alongside Doctor Fate to dispatch these small threats before they got too big. As time passed, both Nabu and Kent believed Naruto was strong enough to handle these annoyances to give him some more independent experience as a future crime fighter.

"Yeah," Zatanna said as she wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Maybe dad will let me join the League too!"

A few seconds passed before Kent and Naruto just burst out laughing. The idea of Giovanni Zatara letting his daughter become a crime fighter was laughable. He was definitely an overprotective dad if ever there was one.

Zatarra pouted as the two laughed at her expense. "Not cool, guys."

"Z," Naruto said, using his affectionate nickname for his rival/friend. "Nothing short of you saving your dad's life from the combined forces of Superman and the entire Green Lantern Corps would get him to admit you were ready to be a Leaguer. When you look up overprotective dad in the dictionary, your dad's is the picture directly beside it."

"He's not that bad, N," Zatanna countered.

Naruto deadpanned. "He threatened to castrate me if I ever made you bleed during our sparring sessions. He also threatened to tear off my arms and legs and leave me in a magical coma if I ever 'deflowered' and knocked up his little princess."

At the mention of this, Zatanna blushed a furious crimson. Sure, she thought Naruto was an attractive guy, but for her father to do that for her...it was incredibly embarrassing to hear from her best friend and rival.

Off to the side, Kent walked out of sight and met back up with Kurama. "How is everything going at his house, Kurama," he whispered.

"Everything is going well enough," Kurama stated. "Of course, considering a good majority of the Justice League and their partners are either here already or are going to be here within the next couple of hours, the setup is going incredibly well." For a moment, Kurama just sat down and looked up blankly at the elderly mage. "You do realize he's going to freak out when he sees complete strangers in his home, right?"

Kent waved his hand at the fox dismissively. "No need to worry, Kurama," he said. "I've got everything under control. Just trust me."

Kurama sighed to himself. "Whatever. It's your funeral. Remind me again how you want your soon-to-be non-existant remains dealt with after Naruto's powers immolate you, cause your organs to explode followed by spontaneous combustion of said exploded organs, the ashes or whatever remains poured into a large vat of acid until even the bones have disolved, and a small nuke eliminates anything that used to be you and is connected to you in a fifty-five mile radius?"

"Har har. I got a good laugh out of that one," Kent mocked with narrowed eyes. It was a well-known fact that Naruto tended to blame anything that was remotely exciting occuring in his normally dull life on the ancient sorcerer, which was partially, if not completely, true. He wasn't big on celebrating his birthday since it just didn't hold the same significance as it used to when his parents were alive. When Zatara and his daughter arrived, Naruto had mentioned something about murdering him for the unexpected visitor who could have just as easily been torn to shreads by his reality altering magic that would instinctively act up when a) he had more than 2/9ths of his power and was not actively casting mid- to large-scale spells constantly or when b) something or someone surprised him. Most times, it would result in him jumping and clinging to the roof or whatever was directly above him or the nearest tall object. Other times, it would react in the form of a dangerous and deadly spell that warped the very nature of whatever it touched.

Almost always, Naruto would swear by the Gods that he would murder/maim/slaughter/destroy/or generally eliminate Kent Nelson in the most painful way imaginable using every demon he formed a contract with to do so. This would, in turn, be waved off by the elderly mage as though it were some sort of inside joke.

Regardless, Kent often found it funny to gauge Naruto's reactions, something his fellow teachers had told him point blank would get him killed by a high-power reality warp one of these days.

"Don't say we never warned you," Kurama said before turning back and walking back to Naruto's home. "Be ready to bring them by soon. Everything is almost set up."

Kent gave him the thumbs up before returning to his training of the two young mages-in-training. Naruto and Zatarra had somehow broken out into a massive Water magic fight...

...if the tidal wave that had somehow collided with Kent Nelson was anything to go by. Standing on the side was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, who looked only mildly drenched, while both Zatanna and Kent were giving him 'looks' as they sat there soaking wet with water still dripping off their various limbs and hair.

Naruto, however, was simply grinning sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "You dared me to go bigger, Z."

"By bigger, I meant like a firehose. NOT A NATURAL DISASTER," she shouted as she tried to get the water out of her hair before thinking about using a spell to dry her clothes.

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. You're just mad I soaked you," Naruto mocked.

"That's about enough playing around, kiddos," Kent said as he cast a spell of his own to drain and dry out the training room. "Let's go out for some ice cream."

Within seconds, the two preteens rushed over, collected Kent, and ran out of the Tower of Fate to the nearest ice cream parlor. It took him only fifteen minutes to get to Benny's Olde Time Soda Shop. Naruto was licking a two scoop Berry Cream cone with a crushed Oreo topping while Zatanna was eating her own two scoop Vanilla cone with crushed Butterfinger topping. Sitting across from the two was Kent Nelson who was drinking an old fashioned Root Beer Float, something he said reminded him of his first date with Inza, his deceased wife. When Zatanna asked him what Inza was like, Kent chuckled briefly before pointing to Naruto.

"She was actually a lot like Naruto," he said with a sad, longing smile. "Always ready for anything. A real spitfire. Never let me get away with anything. She even threatened me just like him whenever she thought I did something stupid."

"How she put up with him is anyones guess," Naruto said bluntly, causing Zatanna to elbow him in the gut with her elbow.. "She had to be an amazing cook though."

"Why do you say that," she asked.

"Cause the first time I tried to eat his 'food', I suffered from food poisoning for a week straight," Naruto threw out.

"It wasn't that bad," Kent rebutted.

"I turned green for the first three days I suffered from food poisoning," Naruto said with a deadpan expression. "Followed by flu-like symptoms which was closely followed by almost insufferable chills and sweating." At this point, Zatanna had paled several shades lighter and told herself she would never eat anything the supreme sorcerer ever cooked himself. "You put me so close to Death's door that I swore I could see a God of Death hovering over my bed at night."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Kent replied.

"So if I shot you in the face and you lived, would that make you bulletproof," Naruto asked as though he were genuinely entertaining the thought.

Kent only laughed. "You couldn't kill me in a million years, kiddo," he said. "I taught you almost everything you know."

"So you keep telling me," Naruto grumbled. If Zatanna hadn't been around to see this, she would have sworn she was friends with a sociopath. However, being around Naruto and Kent as long as she had, Zatanna had long since developed an immunity to their antics.

Pulling out his pocket watch, Kent's eyes widened as he noticed what time it was. Putting away his pocket watch, Kent finished the rest of his float and told the kids it was time to head home for the day. Naruto surprisingly agreed, stating that he had dinner to make for him, his two teachers, and his best friend.

While Naruto was far from a world-class chef, he was a competant cook when it came to dinner. Living on your own for so many years made you learn to do things yourself.

As soon as the two were finished with their cones, they began the mild trek to Naruto's home. Their arrival was without much fuss with Naruto and Kent only exchanging quick jabs every couple of blocks. It was actually barable. By the time they arrived at Naruto's home, Kurama was sitting in front of the door with his sister, Matatabi, at his side.

"Naru-tan," Matatabi shouted before bounding toward the young teen. "I was so worried! Kurama wouldn't let me eat anything until you got home! What's for dinner?!"

Naruto chuckled as he caught the leaping cat and scratched her cheeks, causing the demon hellcat to purr. "I was planning on making a meatloaf for dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, and succotash."

Everyone licked their lips in anticipation.

"Come on," Matatabi rushed as she bounded for the pet door that opened to the inside. "I want dinner now!"

As Naruto and friends approached the door, he turned the handle and allowed the door to swing wide. The lights were off and everything was quiet. The instant Naruto flipped the light switch, the blinding light revealed a lot of people he didn't know popping up from their hiding spots.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto," they shouted in unison...

...until they saw Naruto clinging to the ceiling like a terrified kitten.

Naruto turned his angry gaze toward Kent, who was smiling like a loon at the time. "I'm going to murder you in ways that every Death God on the face of the planet would be jealous, you ancient bastard!"

With those words, Kent Nelson finally decided to let out a hearty laugh at how absolutely pissed off Naruto looked at the moment. "Happy Birthday, Naruto," he shouted to the youth, who continued to glare bloody murder and whisper incoherent threats and promises to completely and utterly destroy his ancient teacher while several people in the room began to wonder how he got in such a ridiculous position well over twenty feet in the air from the ground.

Just another day in the life of Naruto Uzumaki.

Author's Note: I know some of you are confused with the direction I'm going with Zatanna and Naruto, but they are only going to be magic rivals and, to a certain extent, brother and sister. I personally felt like Zatanna and Robin had a connection when she showed up on the YJ scene. Also, I didn't really like the whole Kid Flash x Artemis thing. Just too strange. Now, Naruto has a past he isn't (yet) aware of and Artemis has a family of criminals (except for her mother, who retired after a crippling injury). Another note. Naruto will not, nor will he ever, have access to chakra. He will use his Magic in a similar way to chakra, but he won't have techniques like the Rasengan series. He will have a form of Hiraishin, but not until much later well after Kent dies. Maybe sometime between season 1 and 2. Now, as far as Naruto's Tailed Beast summons/partners, he will have all 9. Shinju will NOT be in this story. Like I said before. Mortal Gods would destroy the world and Naruto will not be a God. He will be able to fly using Wind Magic, though it will be more along the lines of a surfboard/platform made of wind rather than the flight-style of Superman and other heroes. For some reason, I love the look of someone flying like that. I think I used a similar style to describe Joshua from my Harry Potter fic. But that doesn't matter right now. Don't know who I'll hook KF with yet. Don't even know if I'll keep him alive or kill him like the second season.

Thanks to those of you who noticed my spelling errors. It was unintentional. I had just worked what was essentially two 16 hour days of work and I was mentally and physically exhausted. Naturally, I will try to keep such errors to the minimum. FYI, Zatara will still become Doctor Fate even though Naruto would probably make a pretty awesome one. Naruto will, however, be entrusted with the Tower of Fate by Kent on his death bed seeing as Kent is like Naruto's grandfather figure. To address another review, I hate filler chapters too. Truly, I do. However, this one was written to display the growth of Naruto and Zatanna over a two-year period and to give Naruto an opportunity to meet with members of the Justice League. The next chapter will have some Leaguers talking to both Naruto and Kent as well as some of the sidekicks/apprentices excluding Speedy/Red Arrow because he's probably the biggest douchebag in the show. Face it. He's an ass. Batman won't be making an appearance nor will any of the three Green Lanterns. Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Flash, Kid Flash, Aquaman, Kaldur, and a few others will be there however. KF will get magic pranked a couple of times throughout the fiction by Naruto. After the next chapter, I'll start up on the first episode of YJ.

Thank you all for reading and giving me reviews, advice, and other encouragement. I appreciate it. Keep up all of your reviews and I will do my honest best to update in a timely manner.


	5. Meet and Greet

**Naruto Uzumaki: Mystic Fox of Young Justice**

**Written By: Rave Rose of Twilight**

**Warning: I don't own Naruto or Young Justice.**

Chapter Four: Meet and Greet: Welcome to the Hero Game, Kid

After having a good laugh at the birthday boy's expense, everyone seemed to walk over to meet him...after he got down from his ceiling perch. Zatanna was one of the first to greet him and hand him her present, which he placed on the table along with all of the other presents. Following her was a lady with long blond hair and blue eyes, much like him. If anyone else were to show up, they would say that the two must have been siblings, if not that she were his mother.

"Hello, Naruto," the woman said. "Zatara told me a bit about you. I'm Dinah. Dinah Lance. Also known as Black Canary. He said you were considering becoming a hero."

Naruto nodded, still a little pissed at Kent for bringing all of these strangers into his home for his birthday. "I am," he said slightly tensely. "Sorry. Kent makes a habit of 'inviting' complete strangers to my house so that I'll 'make friends' and 'not train the rest of my life away'. His words. Not mine."

"So is Kent your grandfather," she asked kindly.

Naruto scoffed. "Not a chance in the nine levels of Hell is that old, magical bastard related to me," he said. "He's just the guy who trains me in how to control my power."

"And so far, he's been doing a good job of it," called Kurama's voice from his seated position between Naruto and Dinah, something that shocked everyone who believed him to be a regular fox.

"And who's that," Dinah asked Naruto.

"My partner, Kurama," Naruto said with a smile. "He's also been helping me train alongside Kent."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurama," Dinah stated.

"Indeed," Kurama stated neutrally before turning to Naruto. "I have other business to attend to. I'll see you after the party. Also...happy birthday, for what it's worth."

Naruto smiled and nodded while Dinah looked at the fox. "What did he mean by that?"

"Don't know," he admitted. "Kurama likes to talk like that. He's always said stuff I don't think I'll ever understand since I've know him. But the fact that he cares enough to wish me a happy birthday is enough for me."

The two nodded to themselves as though contemplating, or trying to, what the fox meant before leaving that topic be for now. "So, you work with the Justice League too?"

Dinah laughed a bit. "Yeah. I do, but it's hard work. I've had to fight people stronger, smarter, and faster than me, but it's worth the bruises in the end."

"Have you ever had second thoughts about what you were getting into when you started," Naruto asked.

"All the time," Dinah replied. "There's always the chance I could get hurt or worse when I'm out in the field, but protecting the people around me keeps me going." Dinah put a hand to her chin. "How about I introduce you to other members of the League who weren't out on patrol today?"

Naruto nodded excitedly and followed Dinah to a nearby area filled with adults in civilian clothes. "Naruto Uzumaki, I'd like to introduce you to the Justice League. Clark Kent aka. Superman. Oliver Queen aka. Green Arrow. Barry Allen aka. The Flash. And King Orin aka. Aquaman. Guys, I'd like you to meet Kent Nelson's apprentice, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto's blue eyes lit up when he saw some of the proginators of the Justice League standing in front of him. Then...he noticed something off. "Who are they," he asked, pointing to some figures standing by the presents.

Everyone looked over and saw nobody. "Who's who," Clark asked. "I don't see anyone."

"He's got green skin and no hair with a red X across his chest," Naruto said. "He's standing next to a green girl with red hair wearing a blue cloak."

Everyone's eyes widened, but a loud laugh echoed across the room. Kent Nelson walked out from the kitchen. "Sorry," he said, raising his wrinkled hands. "I forgot to mention. Naruto's eyes are quite special. He can see through the dimensional wall and through illusions."

"Wait, are you saying...," started Barry before Kent interrupted him.

"Yep. He's actually seen what the Tower of Fate looks like from the outside," Kent admitted. "And likely your Martian friends through their camouflage abilities."

Without warning, J'onn J'onzz shed his invisibility along with the young Martian girl who stood beside him. "That is an amazing ability," the Martian Manhunter said. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. And this is my niece, M'gann M'orzz." Naruto smiled and extended his hand, conjuring a rose from nothing and handing it to M'gann.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, mage-in-training and future mystic of the Justice League."

"You practice magic," M'gann stated excitedly.

"Yep. I've been working on it for the past couple of years, thanks to Zatara, Kent, and Kurama's teachings," Naruto admitted with a small blush. "I've got Elemental Magics down, though I do tend to use my Plant Magic and Wind Magic more often than not, and I can teleport to various distances depending on how much magic power I use. I remember one time a year ago. I had fallen asleep after one of our training sessions and I was dreaming about ramen, my favorite food in the world. I wanted to visit the best ramen chef in the world. The next morning, I woke up in bed with a pair of twin Japanese girls while their father was standing in the doorway, wielding a huge ladle like a medieval mace. Needless to say, I was chased out of his house while he kept shouting about how I dishonored his family and he must end my life to regain it."

Everyone around him was laughing harder than they thought possible. "Eventually, he tired himself out and I explained what happened and what I was. He found it hard to believe at first, so I ended up giving him a demonstration. Once he finally was ready to believe me, I asked for his forgiveness, even though it was completely unintentional that I wound up in bed with his daughters, and he forgave me by giving me a bowl of his homemade pork ramen. Of course, before he left, he said if he ever found out I 'defiled' his daughters, I would suffer a pain worse than death. I still don't get what he meant, but I just agreed so long as he kept pumping out his awesome ramen for others to enjoy."

By this time, several dozen people were rolling on the tile floor laughing their ass off after hearing the story. M'gann was blushing and laughing at the same time, Kent was just grinning like a loon, and J'onn was looking on in neutrality, though the makings of a smirk were clearly visible. Barry was trying to catch his breath before he clapped his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Kid," he said as he fought to control his laughter. "You are hilarious. Don't change anytime soon. Okay?"

Naruto nodded and watched as the others began to regain control of their laughter. After a few more minutes, they got themselves under control enough to keep asking questions.

"So why do you want to join the Justice League," Clark asked.

"Well," Naruto started. "My parents were really good people. My mom was a bail bondswoman and a volunteer firefighter while my dad was a lawyer who helped small businesses and built houses for the homeless all across the nation. They both believed in helping others before helping themselves." He held out his hands in front of him and looked at them as though something interesting would happen. "With this power of mine, I want to help others just like they did."

"That's a good reason," Clark admitted to the young mage. "I can only imagine your parents would be proud to see you having come so far in their memories."

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly after being praised by Superman himself. "Thanks. It means a lot to hear that from someone like you."

"So what kinds of things have you been learning as far as magic," Barry asked.

Naruto closed his eyes and seemed to try to concentrate on his memories. "Kent tried to teach me some healing magic, but I don't have the aptitude for it like I do with Wind Magic, Teleportation, and Thought Projections."

"Thought Projections," J'onn asked curiously.

Naruto nodded and focused his magic on his thoughts. Without warning, a second Naruto seemed to phase from his body until it became somewhat solid after getting a few feet away. "It's similar to Clone Magic, but the difference is far greater. My Thought Projections are capable of independent thought, but generally follow a series of orders I gave it when I was creating it. For example, if I asked it to find a way to the roof, I might grab a ladder while he might teleport. Same 'order', just a different way to accomplish it. It is also capable of using any magic I know thanks to the small fact that it's creation halves my magic power, however, it can only use so many spells before it simply disappears from a lack of magic. Even without using magic, a Thought Projection will lose magic power over time and can only last so long before it disappears. Once it falls or fails, I gain all of its memories and the remainder of its magic power, if any is left. This can be good because I will naturally regenerate any magic power I've used over time. If I create a Thought Projection, regenerate my magic power to its maximum, and the Projection falls, I would be able to use approximately one and a half times my maximum power at the time that Projection in question failed."

"So you could use that Thought Projection technique to perform recon," Orin stated. "Quite a clever technique."

"Not only that, but if my Projection is training and learns a new spell, when it fails, I'll have learned that spell as well," Naruto stated. "Of course, even Projections have their limits. I can only make one and they can't give me any physical feedback. So if my Thought Projection was practicing some kind of martial art and it failed after mastering it, I would not get the benefits of such training. Another downside if that they are incredibly frail. Unless I use extra magic power to make them tougher, they can usually only take one good hit before...poof." With that said, Naruto punched his Projection and everyone watched as it went up in a puff of smoke.

"It's got its uses, but it is also incredibly limited," Naruto admitted. "The most I can do is figure out different ways of using those limited spells in different, more unpredictable ways."

Orin and a few others chuckled. "You've found quite the student, eh Kent?"

Kent simply rolled his eyes. "Definitely," he muttered. "He absorbed everything I've taught him so far like a sponge and he just keeps coming back for more. There isn't much more I can teach him lately."

"Yeah," Naruto admitted a bit sadly. "Eventually, I'm going to have to create my own spells if I'm ever going to get any better instead of relying on learning the premade spells from the library at the Tower of Fate. That means making a personal incantation key since I use Latin as a base for my Verbal spells and adapting it to each and every spell I've learned. That will take a few years. Creating even a single spell from scratch could take anywhere from a few months to several years depending on what I want the spell to turn out like. More powerful spells, like ones that could...obliterate an entire city, would take several decades alone." Everyone looked at him like he was bent on taking over the world. "That was an example. I would never try to craft a spell for that level of destruction unless it was absolutely necessary. Like an end of the world scenario or something like that."

Somehow, that didn't put many of their minds to rest.

"So you use a similar way of casting spells as Zatara and his daughter," asked Dinah.

"Somewhat. They use Backward Verbal magic. Thanks to Zatara's lessons, I have been able to improve my Latin Verbal magic instead of learning their style of magic," he said. "That being said, I did learn that I will need to be incredibly specific when casting Verbal spells or I won't get the desired effect. Thankfully, Latin can be an incredibly specific language in comparison to English, making my need to be specific a little less necessary, but still a large requirement."

The Leaguers nodded to themselves before noticing that several of their own apprentices were wandering around aimlessly. "Naruto, why don't you go visit with our own apprentices? I'm sure Kid Flash and Aqualad would enjoy spending time with you."

Naruto nodded and walked over to the two junior heroes in question while Kent continued to talk to the Leaguers.

"Hey," Naruto called out to a red-haired kid and a dark skinned boy with tattoos on his arms, catching their attention. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki. What are your names?"

"I'm Wally West. You can also call me Kid Flash. The Flash is my mentor," the redhead said.

"And I am Kaldur'ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur," the Atlantean introduced. "I am Aqualad and King Orin is my mentor."

"Like I said before, my name's Naruto Uzumaki. I don't really have a hero name. Kent Nelson is my official mentor and Giovanni Zatara is my secondary mentor," Naruto told the two.

"Kent Nelson," Kaldur asked. "He's Doctor Fate, right?"

"Kinda," Naruto told them. "Technically, Kent Nelson is only Doctor Fate, Sorcerer Supreme, when he puts on the Helmet of Fate. Without the Helmet, he's just an old sorcerer who thoroughly enjoys aggravating me or those fake psychics who say they can speak with the dead."

Wally frowned. "Don't you know magic isn't real," he asked. "It's just science dressed up to look mystical."

Naruto raised an eyebrow before realization hit him. "Oh Gods. You're a skeptic." At this point, Naruto was trying to ease his headache away. "Okay, Naruto. Skeptics are real and there are people stupider than those who think that being bitten by a radioactive insect is an easy way to get superpowers." Now that his mind was thoroughly settled, Naruto almost half glared at Wally. "Okay. For your information, magic is, in fact, real. Just as real as science. Yes. There are fake magicians who use smoke and mirrors and mind tricks to make people believe they are performing magic, but magic is just as real as the ground you stand on."

"We have a magical concervatory in Atlantis where I studied to master my own skills and become a hero," Kaldur stated.

"You use bio-electricity and your water bearers allow you to shape water by manipulating its atomic structure to make it a solid," Wally explained, causing both Naruto and Kaldur to look at him like he'd grown a second hand.

"So you actually use magic, Kaldur," Naruto asked.

Kaldur nodded. "Yes. I spent many years studying in the concervatory. The tattoos on my body are what I use to channel my power over water and electricity and the first stage in joining the concervatory. However, there are far better mages than myself who attended the concervatory before King Orin chose me to become Aqualad."

"That's really interesting," Naruto admitted. "It sounds like how the Norse mages used Runic symbols to perform magic or to impart some kind of magical property on someone or something. I would love to have a chance to visit the Atlantean Concervatory, if only to compare notes. Kent always says that knowledge is power."

"Indeed," Kaldur agreed. "I'm sure the concervatory would enjoy having Doctor Fate's apprentice attend in order to exchange information, though you would need to talk with Aquaman before showing up. He would be able to give you the needed permission to attend."

"I'll be sure to ask him about it in the future," Naruto stated.

"Dudes," Wally cried out. "Magic isn't real."

"_Silentium_," Naruto said in a bored tone and a snap of his fingers. Wally tried to speak his mind, but nothing came out. He tried shouting, screaming, wailing, and silently crying, but no sound came from his mouth. "Much better."

"Was that absolutely necessary," asked Kaldur.

"If you didn't want to hear him constantly disrespect magic...then yes. It was absolutely necessary," Naruto said with a cheezy grin. "Well, it was either that or turn him into a jackalope. Still debating on which one would have been funnier."

Kaldur's eyes widened. "You can actually transform people into animals," he asked cautiously.

Naruto nodded. "I used to do it all the time to the bullies at school, but Kent found out and, aside from laughing at the pranks for a good hour or two, warned me about the repercussions of turning too many humans into 'mythical' animals and what others would think if they ever found out it was me. I was trying to pay attention to his lecture, but I could barely pay attention because I was laughing so hard."

At this point, Kent and the others had overheard the story and Kent had puffed out his chest with pride that he'd been able to actually influence Naruto's pranks. Everyone else who knew the elderly sorcerer could only shake their heads in shame, knowing that Kent had more than approved of the child-like prank of turning a human into an animal like a jackalope.

"You know, Kent," started Clark. "None of us would mind helping Naruto out. With his training, I mean. We can help him out with his hand-to-hand combat techniques and other things you aren't that well-known for."

Kent knew that this was only an attempt to get his student into a more heroic mindset over the somewhat childish one he currently possessed, but he admitted to himself that there were many things Naruto could only learn outside of the Tower. Outside of Salem. Having more experienced teachers to help him in those areas would definitely help him with his dream of becoming a member of the Justice League.

He sighed to himself. For some reason or another, he felt like he was going to miss his prized student. "Yeah," Kent finally relented. "I'm not as young as I used to be. If I tried to teach Naruto how to fight in close-quarters, I might actually get hurt on accident."

Everyone seemed to frown to themselves. Kent hadn't put on the Helmet in a long time and it clearly showed how rarely he fought crime. In essence, Naruto wasn't just his apprentice. He was acting as his replacement in the field. Kent would keep an eye out for any kind of magical crime near Salem and direct Naruto to the site, where the young mage-in-training would combat villains and restore order. "Unfortunately, Naruto can't stay out of Salem for long."

"His inheritance," Dinah stated, getting a nod from Kent.

"His parents placed a requirement that he attend and graduate from Salem Academy followed by attending and graduating from an Ivy league school," Kent informed them. "That's why I haven't brought him to other crime-filled cities. Short of installing one of those Zeta Tubes you use so often in his house, he can't leave very far from our little town to get more crime-fighting experience. Even with his expertice with the Teleportation Spell, he would need to make frequent stops through several states and would be significantly drained of his magic power."

"That's a shame," Barry stated sadly. Caught between his parents final wishes and making them proud by becoming a hero was a difficult decision for a boy his age to make.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult. Right, J'onn," Clark asked the resident Martian.

"Not entirely," J'onn informed them. "We would need the resources, which Bruce or Star Labs could easily supply, followed by joining it to the current Zeta Tube system and granting him a designation with certain restrictions to certain places. We could easily have one installed within a month, allowing him to join us on small missions or for training with other mentors."

"I'll call Bruce and ask him if he'd be willing to install another Zeta Tube in the home of a future hero," Clark stated. "I'm sure he'll agree once he hears about his circumstances."

"Bruce can be a bit...stubborn when he wants to be," Kent stated, knowing the Dark Knight for both his reputation and his personality.

"True, but he wouldn't want to turn away the apprentice of Doctor Fate," Clark stated.

Largely, he disagreed with Bruce's/Batman's view that sidekicks were akin to soldiers in the 'war' against evil, but Naruto had actually wanted to make a difference in the world and was more than able to with the wide array of powers that magic offered him. He wasn't some kid with a lot of emotional baggage. He didn't witness his parents be murdered by a thug or supervillain. His powers weren't the result of some kind of scientific accident or technology. He wanted to help people of his own free will and Clark wouldn't try to stop the kid from achieving his dream.

"Indeed," remarked J'onn who was somewhat split between the conversation with his fellow heroes and watching his niece observe the behavior humans displayed at celebrations such as this while still invisible. A small part of him was still surprised that Naruto was able to simply see through the technique and hold a conversation with her while she was invisible. "And with his own power almost dwarfing every mystic officially enlisted in the Justice League individually and still growing with each passing day, he will have very little reason to rebuff his efforts in becoming a hero."

The heroes, both retired and current, all nodded when J'onn made his point. Naruto was still young and his power was constantly growing the older he got until he reached the prime of his life, which they suspected would be around his early-to-mid twenties.

Shortly after Barry asked Naruto to remove the curse from Wally, much to the chagrin of a select few who were in attendance, the festivities went off without another hitch. The cake, which was orange-flavored, had been divided between all of the party guests, including the two Martians, and birthday presents were opened. Some were more useful than others, but he appreciated the thoughts that went into each gift all the same.

Just as Naruto thought he had opened the last present, Kurama came walking out with a moderately large box and the ribbon clenched in his jaws. His tail swayed softly as he laid the present down in front of Naruto. Everyone looked on in mild wonder as the fox delivered his gift, unaware, for the most part, that what he was about to do next was actually normal.

"While I personally have never had much need for birthdays, I understand that it is customary to bring a gift of some kind or another," the fox stated, stunning those who didn't already know that he could speak. He used one of his paws to push the gift closer to Naruto while looking away. Seconds passed and Naruto had yet to touch the gift from his partner, who was clearly growing either more aggitated or embarrassed with each passing moment. "Well, don't just stand there gawking like an idiot. Open it."

Without warning, Wally West seemed to appear in front of the talking fox and poked it a couple of times. "Artificial intelligence in a robot body," the boy explained as he kept poking and prodding Kurama, who's eye was twitching wildly. "That's gotta be it."

"If you poke me one more time, I swear to whatever deity you believe in that I will rip out your intestines from your throat and show them to you as you take your final breaths," the fox warned the kid, who stopped poking him for a moment.

Almost everyone in the room could now tell where Naruto got his violent, threatening demenor when he saw so many strangers in his house. "You really shouldn't agitate Kurama, Wally," Naruto advised as he picked up the present from his partner and shook it slightly to try and guess what it was. "He can be incredibly violent when provoked."

Wally looked over at Naruto with a bored look in his eyes. "He's just an artificial intelligence. He can't possibly hurt me. It would be against his programming."

With that said, Wally went to poke Kurama again...but this time, Kurama was prepared.

**CHOMP**

For all of five seconds, the room was silent. As soon as those five seconds were over, Wally West was running around like a chicken with its head cut off while doing his best to shake Kurama off of his hand without taking his hand off with him and screaming bloody murder.

"GET HIM OFF ME," Wally shouted to the world as he tried to pry the fox off using a combination of high speed and breaking near instantly, but none of his techniques worked. "FOR THE SAKE OF SCIENCE, GET HIM OFF ME!"

"No. Stop. Don't," Naruto said softly as though he could honestly care less about the pain Kid Flash was experiencing. Something the Leaguers seemed to acknowledge when he continued to try and find out what the present was without opening it instead of actually trying to get the talking fox off his new friend's hand.

Naruto took a deep breath and carefully opened the gift from his lifelong partner. Once the wrapping and ribbon was off, Naruto carefully lifted the lid and gasped. Upon hearing the gasp, Kurama unlatched his incredibly sharp teeth from the skeptic's hand and trotted over to Naruto to explain his gifts.

"That necklace belonged to my father, Hagoromo Otsutsuki," Kurama mentioned. "It was a gift that my siblings have agreed should belong to you since you remind us of him. We also decided to try and get you something better suited to protect you on missions over your magician's robes that Kent has been letting you use from when he was your age."

Naruto immediately put on the red magatama necklace and pulled out a white trenchcoat with crimson magatama across the coat tails, the ends of the arms, and nine on the back under a whirlpool-like pattern (think the coat Madara is wearing when he becomes the Ten-Tail's Jinchuriki only with the Uzumaki clan symbol instead of the Rinnegan). "This coat was made by my brothers Saiken and Choumei using Choumei's ability to produce high quality silk with the same properties as Kevlar while retaining its flexibility and Saiken's slime, giving it the ability to protect you from harsh weather conditions such as intense heat, intense cold, or even heavy rain."

Underneath the coat, however, was a final present. "This last one comes from me. It may look like a porcelain mask, but it is incredibly durable. It has to be if you plan on fighting with it. Son Goku had crafted it, but I was the one who designed the picture of a fox's face on it. It will automatically filter out any toxic or harmful gas you come into contact with and it will also keep your identity a secret with ease since you can use your magic to keep others from taking it. While someone like Superman would easily be able to shatter it into millions of pieces, foes without superhuman strength will find it much harder to remove or break."

"This is...unbelieveable," Naruto said, barely believing his own eyes. "Thanks, Kurama. This is the best birthday present ever." A few tears fell down his eyes, but he wiped them away fairly quickly. "Be sure to thank your brothers and sisters for me. Okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah," Kurama said somewhat weakly. "Whatever. I'll be sure to mention it eventually."

As the festivities began to die down and people made their way back home, Naruto knew that today would be the day that his journey as a hero would finally begin.


End file.
